We’re sticking with Gloo

I’m Grace, HR Specialist at Gloo. It’s my job to manage the recruitment process and check up on how our new joiners are doing. Today I’m talking to Holly and Sophie, two of our recent recruits.

Grace

So, how have your first few months at Gloo gone?

Sophie

I’ve always found meeting the team to be one of the most nerve-racking things about starting a new job. But at Gloo this wasn’t a problem—I was invited to a team building day the week before I began. This wasn’t just any team building event, it was at The Crystal Maze! The surreal blur of 90s nostalgia was a fantastic icebreaker and by the time I arrived for my first day I felt like part of the team. This let me focus solely on getting to grips with onboarding.

Holly

When talking with my new colleagues, I found that everyone had the same experience when settling in—a warm welcome and everyone going out of their way to help.

Grace

So what’s it like being a Junior Designer at Gloo?

Holly

Gloo champions training and development, and that started on my first day with being given access to various self-directed training resources and the company forums and encouraged to follow my interests. I was also signed up to Code Academy and directed towards some courses that would be beneficial. Self-tuition and learning on the job is one thing, but having your colleagues support you with one-to-one and group lessons speeds the process up a lot! The other designers jumped into helping me with any software I had limited experience of. Having done a degree in Illustration, I’d heard of Adobe Animate but I’d never used it before. Cue a one to one session with a senior designer to help me get the hang of it!

But Gloo isn’t just about great design. Previously, I’d only worked within a design agency, so it’s been interesting entering into a marketing environment where design is just one part of a larger process. I’m not only surrounded by designers but also writers, social media specialists and operations experts. Everyone is creative with strengths in different areas. It’s great to see your efforts combined into a larger product. I was worried that as a Junior Designer, I might be restricted to preparing files and making the occasional icon if I was lucky. Instead, I’ve been given many opportunities to own projects and have a real impact on the finished deliverables.

Grace

And what do you like most about your new job?

Sophie

My favourite thing about working at Gloo is the culture of sincere appreciation. And acknowledging fantastic work isn’t just limited to your own team. Gloo specialises in tech and practices what it writes about, we have an app for everything—even saying thank you. Bonus.ly lets you give points to your co-workers which they can exchange for vouchers, charitable donations, or additional even time off.

Holly

So far, I’ve sampled approximately five cakes (birthdays are not taken lightly), I’ve lost count of the lunches out, hundreds of thoughtful gestures in general (not just tea making!), a magnum of Champagne from a client, and thousands of emojis. We don’t just try to produce great work, we try to be great to work with too 😃.